Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
Theodore was running late, and it was already deep in the night while he was still on the highway, miles from his destination.
It was well past one in the morning by the time he reached the county nearest to Ember Ridge.
Heading into the mountains and villages in the dead of night wasn’t an option, so he found a hotel in the county to hole up for the night. He’d visit the show’s crew in the morning.
As the hours slipped by, the deep black of night gradually faded, giving way to the first faint light on the horizon.
In the farmhouse, Debra woke up and checked her phone. It was five–thirty in the morning.
It was still early, but with a long day of shooting ahead, she needed to get a move on. She started tidying up the room, trying to get it back to exactly how it was at the end of last night’s filming.
The sounds of Debra bustling around woke Rebecca beside her.-
Rebecca’s long eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks as she slowly opened her eyes.
Hearing the noise, she instinctively glanced over to see Debra getting dressed.
Rebecca also started to remember that they were filming and needed to get up early to tidy things up. Otherwise, there would be problems when the live stream started.
With that thought, she quickly got out of bed.
“Becky? Did I wake you?” Debra asked, concerned when she saw Rebecca getting up.”
“No, I woke up on my own,” Rebecca replied.
“You should get some more sleep. Let me tidy up,” Debra said hurriedly.
The two babies weren’t easy to manage. Lily and Kev had both woken up twice during the night, and both times, Rebecca had personally gotten up to feed them.
She felt guilty for not being able to spend time with her kids during the day, so she tried to make up for it at night, personally feeding them their night meals.
This broke Debra’s heart. To her, both her grandchildren and her daughter were her babies, and both needed care.
Becky had worked all day, and she had to get up twice at night, spending over half an hour each time to feed the little ones. With all the work, Becky didn’t have much time left to sleep.
But Rebecca still insisted on getting up.
Debra was determined. She marched over, pushed Rebecca back into bed, and ordered, “Sleep!”
When Rebecca didn’t listen, Debra looked her in the eye and firmly said, “Listen to your mother!”
Rebecca’s eyes locked with her mom’s. It suddenly dawned on her that when her mom became this assertive, she didn’t know how to say no to her.
Finally, Rebecca stayed put and soon drifted back to sleep.
When she woke up, sunlight streamed through the window. She blinked sleepily and looked around the empty room. The babies were gone from her side, and her mother’s makeshift bed on the floor had vanished without a
trace.
Rebecca’s eyes widened as she checked the time – 7 a.m. She scrambled out of bed and quickly got dressed.
Leaving her room, she immediately saw the photographer filming and Charlie doing push–ups in the yard.
As soon as she stepped outside, everyone noticed her. The live stream camera instantly turned toward her, and
Charlie, in the middle of his push–ups, turned his head to look at her. Everyone’s attention was on her. Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
“Becky!” Charlie exclaimed, jumping up from the ground and walking towards her.
“Good morning! How’d you sleep? The mountain air does wonders, doesn’t it?” He winked playfully.
“It’s a world away from home,” Rebecca smiled, “The peace and quiet here… I haven’t slept this soundly in ages.“”
“I know, right?” Charlie grinned, “No blaring horns or sirens, just the birds singing us awake. That’s awesome!”
Rebecca closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the mountain air, instantly feeling much more relaxed. She nodded. “Yeah, it’s amazing!”
In the livestream, many viewers were up early to watch them.
Some viewers were simply fans, waking up early to watch their favorite stars.
Others were drawn in by yesterday’s livestream and wanted to keep watching.
There were also viewers who simply enjoyed the show’s setting. The ancient village deep in the mountains was something they couldn’t see in the big city, and they wanted to experience village life through the stream.
Rebecca snuck a peek at the viewer count. While not astronomical, it was still impressive. Twenty to thirty thousand people were already watching live, and the number was climbing steadily.
At this moment, there were quite a few comments in the livestream chat, and some were even talking about her. Rebecca couldn’t help but sneak a peek, but soon, she noticed that most of the comments were about how pretty
she was.
‘Indeed, the entertainment industry is all about looks,’ Rebecca thought, but she couldn’t deny the warmth spreading through her chest at the compliments. No woman would turn down being called beautiful.
“You guys are too kind,” she said, giving the livestream camera a shy smile.
From yesterday until now, she had been following Charlie’s lead, struggling to adapt to the rhythm of shooting a reality show and feeling a bit out of sync with their activities.
However, she didn’t want to stay quiet forever. Since Charlie had brought her here, she needed to give this her bes shot. She couldn’t embarrass Charlie, and besides…
She couldn’t lose to Janet.
With this in mind, Rebecca said again, “I’m going to work harder and not be a burden to Chuck.”
This was the first time Rebecca had actively engaged with everyone on the live show. There was a natural tenderness and sweetness to her voice that drew people in, making them smile warmly.
Most viewers in Room Five were Charlie’s fans. Since Charlie treated Rebecca well, many of his fans grew to like Rebecca, too.
As Rebecca interacted with everyone, the fans got excited, sending a flurry of comments.
[Go, Becky! We got your back!]
[Becky, you’re gorgeous, you’re gonna kill it!]
Charlie walked over, his eyes flicking between Rebecca and the comments before he addressed the crowd, “Hey folks, Becky’s my friend, so let’s keep it respectful, yeah?”
He added with a bright smile, “Though, feel free to lay on the compliments. She loves those.”
ア
The moment he finished speaking, his fans in the livestream went wild, flooding the chat with comments.
[Whoa, Chuck! Is this really you? What happened to the cold, sarcastic guy we all know and love?]
[Chuck, be honest, do you like Becky? Are you trying to pursue her?]
[Damn it, those comments got me thinking. Could Chuck actually have fallen for her? Does he want to be with Becky?]
1. 13 JUL
So, are we saying Chuck’s been acting like a guy acting like a peacock for his girl?]